Newsletter 43: March 2009

(Australian/International Edition)*

* if you are from NZ click here for our New Zealand e-newsletter.

From Murray's Desk

It's been a busy few weeks for me, leading Carey Baptist College block courses in Auckland and Christchurch, teaching weekly in our own local Bible College here in Palmerston North, and holding a well attended TARGET7 seminar in Auckland. At the end of next week I'm taking some leave, including long service leave (over 10 years with YouthTRAIN now) and from there go to Fiji to speak at a conference and then on to Nepal for more teaching and training. This means I will be out of the office almost continually until the end of May and some tasks will be slowed. I will however be clearing emails so if you wish to contact me that is the best way to go about it.

LIFE: The Missing Dimension in Discipleship

Sales continue to progress very well and it is especially encouraging to receive feedback like the following:

• I am loving your "Life" book - I got to about chapter 4 & decided this is awesome & I need to get this into our weekly small groups so am about to order bulk supply!
• Your book is great - so brief and easy to read but hard hitting!

It is good way to get our older teens and young adults into Scripture, helping them to understand its flow and the way in which Christ and His principles of Life are so central to it all.

I need to keep emphasising - this is not a practical youth ministry book (but see below). Nor is it the sort of book you want to sit down and try to read in a single sitting. Most chapters are only a couple of pages long and encourage the reader to reflect on what they read. Therefore I think it works well as a daily devotional book or as a book to study and discuss together with a group.

For more information and to purchase a copy, click here.

New Series of Articles: Youth Ministry According to the Tree of Life

Last month I indicated that over subsequent months I will be releasing a series of articles based on the above book "LIFE: The Missing Dimension in Discipleship". These articles are not excerpts from the book. What they do is expound on the book illustrating ways in which its principles and concepts can be applied in practical ways in youth ministry.

The second of these articles, which appears on our website this month, is called "The Bible and LIFE", It looks at the ways in which we approach scripture in youth ministry and calls for a devotional and experiential approach alongside an intellectual approach so commonly employed. The following is an excerpt:

We are no doubt familiar with Bible teaching as logos. Here we give young people a good understanding of the flow of Scripture and have them study basic theology. It is good and right that we do. However if that is all we do, we end up filling their minds with rules and information, and these will not sustain them. In fact, eventually Scripture will become dull and boring to them. So we do not cease from doing those things, but what we do is add a more personal aspect to our engagement with Scripture – one that breathes Life into them and has them learning within the context of a relationship with God, just as He always intended.

In a personal approach to Scripture we teach young people to approach the Bible devotionally – not simply as a book of information but as Living Word through which God desires to speak to them. We teach them that in reading a passage it is good to understand the background to it, both culturally and linguistically – out of such understanding grows sound Bible knowledge and theology. But we must also ask questions that have them pondering what God is saying to them personally through the passage. Questions such as, is there an attitude I need to change, a sin I must confess and forsake, an sin to avoid, a command to obey, an example to follow, a promise to claim, a warning to heed, some praise or thanksgiving to offer, or a significant truth I need to be mindful of?

A Couple of Online Magazines

Youth ministry magazines can be so expensive - especially with the fall in our dollar compared to the US dollar. Here are a couple of online freebies for you to browse through this month

• YSoteric: Youth Specialities describe this as a "magalog - a kind of a magazine and catalog mash-up." Worth checking out.
• Youthworker Magazine: To celebrate their 25 Birthday, Youthworker magazine have posted their entire March/April 2009 edition online. The theme of this edition is "Crisis".

From the Fuller Youth Institute

• Sabbath Rest in a 24/7 City: An outstanding 5 part resource being released progressively through the year that reflects on finding peace amidst the demands of youth mionistry. The focus is on youth ministry in an urban US setting but the principles are universal. It contains articles along with questions for reflection, as well as audio podcasts and video clips.
• Deep Justice Journeys: This book is due for release in May 2009 but in the meantime this webpage contains a description of the book along with a couple of samples. Also worth checking out here are more articles on justice along with some videos created by high school students to inspire their peers to care about issues of poverty and oppression and respond with justice.

Youthwork International

I've mentioned the Youthwork International site before but its worth another mention. Its a UK based site but brings together news, articles and resources from around the world. Recent additions to the site include:

• Four ready-to-use youth work sessions, based on the life of David. Some great themes are covered, like worship, violence in the Old Testament, developing vision and understanding God's forgiveness of our sins.
• Articles on:
  • What to do if we are feeling in a rut with God
  • The relationship between our Sunday worship and getting involved in social justice issues
  • The challenge we face in helping our young people develop into 'thinking theologians'
  • Time management for youth workers; some very helpful tips and ideas on how to manage ourselves better and 'de-stress' a bit as we prioritise better.
  • How to inspire your young people to think creatively about involvement in social justice issues.

A Resource For Guys...

• 13 Ways to Ruin Your Life: A free downloadable book in .pdf format to share with guys in your youth ministry who are struggling with sexual sin. You need to register first to download this.

Looking for a Youth Pastor/Leader/Intern

Each month we feature the latest job opportunities on our website, circulating them to the over 1000 contacts on our database. It's a free and easy way to let people know of your church's vacancy - and it does get the message out. Here are just two emails received from pastors over the last month:

• Fantastic website, thanks. I posted an ad for a Youth Intern/Part Time Youth Pastor in January, and got 4 applicants immediately!
• We have recently appointed ___________ to our part time role of Youth Worker in ___________. He saw the advert via your website while overseas. Thanks for putting up the advert for us.

If your church or one that you know of is looking to make a staff appointment in the area of youth ministry then do direct them to our website where they can fill in a form and post details to the site themselves. We advertise jobs both here in New Zealand and overseas.

Latest Job Opportunities

Latest adverts posted during the past couple of months (more on our website):

• Full Time Youth, Children and Young Family Pastor - Tauranga, New Zealand (February 12, 2009)
• Intermediate Youth Worker - Auckland, New Zealand (February 12, 2009)
• Youth Intern/Part Time Youth Pastor - Waitakere City, New Zealand (February 11, 2009)
• Part time Paid Youth Worker - R D 2, New Zealand (January 30, 2009)
• Diocesan Educator for the Under 40’s - Dunedin, New Zealand (January 24, 2009)

Add a little to your 2009 budget

Writing newsletters takes time and there is little tangible return. It is a blessing to do it but in the end the bills have to be paid. We are a faith venture and not underwritten by any organisation or denomination. If you have read this far it's a safe bet that these newsletters are helpful to you. If so why not give a one off donation from your personal or ministry budget - no amount is too small. If you are interested in offering some support - regularly or as a one off donation click here to find out more. We have a link to our automatic payment form plus a page that tells you how you can make contributions through internet banking.

- Murray